Alright now. If you follow me on twitter, you’ll know that I love posting photos of this yummmmmmy breakfast / brunch idea.
There is something about this that makes it a huuuuuge crowd pleaser while still remaining SUPER EASY! After I spent an entire morning taking photos and experimenting with flavors, trust me, I definitely found myself saying, “well shit, I could have definitely just folded those ingredients into an omelette”. BUT I feel like this is somewhat different and exciting for people. You could invite 5 or 10 (or 20 if you’re popular and i don’t wanna be mean or anything but all those people aren’t really your friends and they’re probably just using you you should really cut it down before you get hurt you’re not on real housewives or anything so there is no other reason to have so many people in your life it’s kind of a waste unless you’re just having a schmoozey get-together and trust me i know how those are wow this is a really long parenthesis thought and you’ll probably have to scroll up to even see where i left off to connect these sentences) people over for those early football games and this would be a flawless dish when paired with a spicy bloody mary.
Let’s get right into it. Preheat your oven to 375 and line your small , lightly greased ramekins with 2 thinly sliced (i tell my deli counter guy, “thin but not too thin”, whatever the fuck that means) pieces of your favorite ham. I like to do it “rustically” but while still making sure there are no large gaps or holes.
Ok. let’s do this shit.
First up, the greek ham cup: spinach, feta and tomatoes. I bought some tiny feta cubes at a regular grocery store in a jar that were soaked in olive oil and spices. What spices? No idea. Don’t even care, because you can’t go wrong. Could you use regular crumbled? I’m sure. This stuff is all about playing around, which is why it’s so damn easy.
Heat up some olive oil in a sautee pan set at medium/high. Once that get’s nice and hot, toss in a clove or 2 of minced garlic:
Sautee the spinach for a few minutes until it basically becomes like something you didn’t even pay money for. Wilted and sad.
Spoon the spinach into your ham cup and toss in some diced tomatoes of your choice (I hate tomatoes and really only like little sweet guys) and a few little cubes of feta. Do as much as you’d like of whatever filling but make sure you save room for the cracked egg on top:
Pop in the oven at 375 for 22-25 minutes, a little more if you’d like. The yolk will look hard and maybe even overcooked while the white will look runny. But it’s not…..trust me.
This is what you get…
I poke any little bubbles with a sharp knife at about the 15 minute point. Remove from oven and let sit for just a minute or so, not too long. Use a fork to gently lift the ham cup out of the ramekin to have something looking like the photo up top. I like to pair this with sliced avocado, which I pair with basically everything in life.
So now that you have the basics down, I’ll just quickly show a couple of my other favorite flavors!
Southwestern cup: diced red bell peppers, mushrooms, onion and tomatoes sautéed in olive oil with a dash of seasoning salt, LAWRY’S!
Put sautéed yumminess into the ham cup, crack the egg on top and put in the oven. Then add some grated cheddar cheese about 15 minutes in:
Another tip: your ham edges willlllll blacken. Just use some scissors to clip off the edges orrrrr better yet, say screw it, because burnt edges are delicious.
Last up, my new favorite, the tomato, mozzarella and pesto cup.
If you can find “mozzarella pearls” soaked in water in a little tub at your grocery store, this is best, but if not, any few chunks of mozzarella will do. Put your mozzarella pieces into a small bowl and add enough pesto to coat. Toss the cheese and pesto mix into the cup, and add plenty of diced tomatoes. Crack the egg on top, bake again…
Mmmm. There are so many new flavors I wanna try….next time, I will be adding bacon crumbles to everything….
Let’s brainstorm new flavor combos in the comments below! Enjoyyyyyy
xx
I was thinking of using proscuitto instead of ham? do you think it will hold?
This looks amazing. I just forwarded the email to inform them that these will be had on christmas morning, and every other morning of my choosing after that.
Who is them? My family I mean
lol
All these look so delicious! Love your blog, not only for the recipes but for the tips on cooking and restaurants. question: have you always been this passionate about cooking? Were you raised in a very homecooked meal kinda home?
Your love of food and the “art” of cooking is catchy! Don’t let any haters or negativity stop you from sharing with those that want to learn and soak up these great recipes and ideas.
At first I was sad that I couldn’t make this because I’m a vegetarian, but then I thought, “SmartBacon!” I’ll bet it would work in place of the ham. I’m gonna find out next weekend.
Ahh! Loving this recipe. Delish & oh so easy to make! Brunch party perfection. Thx 4 posting!
These look sooooo good, and because they’re carb free I can convince myself that they’re super healthy no matter what bad ingredients those ramekins might contain. Thank you Chrissy!
I wonder what would happen if you tried something with pineapple….? (Kinda like a Hawaiian Pizza…) Savory sweet? Or would that just be gross? Hmm….
oh my god. i love things like this so much. things that look so freaking impressive but dont require hours of hard labor.
do you think i could use like…a cupcake pan? i dont have ramekins :/
also, im going to try the pesto one and add garlic sauteed spinach or kale
You definitely can! Check out my blog to see how I did it that way:
http://www.stirringuplove.blogspot.com
whoops sorry I changed my site! It’s http://www.stirringuplove.wordpress.com
oh my goodness thank you so much! im so excited to do this now! i think using a cupcake pan (or i also have a slightly bigger square pan for bars) makes them the perfect size for an appetizer!
also, flavor idea: use your chipolte chicken!!
How about some cream cheese….no? As a jamaican I am trying to think what spicy something could be add to give it a KICK!!!
What about roasted potatoes (the no carb kind), carmelized onions, and a spicy cheese. ok that’s a lot of work but if you had leftovers it’d be amaaaaazing.
I’ve done this as well using muffin tins!! Just place the ham in the muffin cup and put whatever ingredients you want in there. This works great if you don’t have ramekins!
Shellbell i had the exact same idea! Sauteed potatoes, onions caramelized with chopped up serrano peppers, and cheeeeeseeeeee… Its like a skillet breakfast in 3 bites! Ill probably do these tomorrow for brunch and ill @ the pics at you Chrissy. Gracias!
Maybe a tsp of red onion, a tbs of black beans, tbs of corn, chopped red and green pepper, sauté with olive oil, salt and pepper and cumin with a little lime, cheddar or pepperjack on top of the egg call it the fucking fiesta ham cup or some shit… Or use bacon.
i wanna do these with these shredded hash browns i have…
ah LOVE shredded has browns
poblano pepper(s), diced tomatoes, chopped onions, pepper jack
Pizza sauce, pineapple and mozzarella cheese?
I just discovered your blog and can’t wait to try some of your recipes! Do you have a good recipe for egg rolls?
Just made the southwestern ones for breakfast (had all of the ingredients from last night’s dinner) in large muffin tins — came out fabulous! Next attempt will be bacon, mushroom, spinach, w a combo of swiss and gruyere! I think with the hash browns, I’d add crumbled cooked sausage! Oh, okay…I want one of THOSE NOW! Thanks Crissy — LOVE your blog – it totally inspires me, and your chipotle sauce recipe hangs on the insider door of my cabinet with my “go-to” recipes – my friends think it’s amazing on everything!
Tried bacon, spinach, mushroom with a little swiss and they were to die for! My sister doesn’t like those ingredients so I did carmelized onion, red and orange bell peppers and bacon in hers with cheddar and even those were a big hit.
Thank you SO much Chrissy for always having something new to try! Love this blog.
Just made egg cups for brunch. Spinach/onion/feta, pesto/mozz/tomatoes/onions, and chorizo/onion/sweet potato/green pepper all BIG hits. Love your blog!!
I fell in love with you at chorizo — what a great idea! And with the sweet potato…I’m actually just about to start my second batch of egg cups to have on hand for the next couple of mornings — since the family ate all of the ones I made this morning! What a super concept this idea is — it really is endless what you can do!
I love this idea…was planning on using it, but I have several weirdo friends who don’t eat pork. Do you recommend any alternative besides ham?
They make turkey “ham”. Does that help?
Unapologetic profanity and Lawry’s love- I feel like I found my cooking alter ego here in NYC. Thanks for the entertaining, inspiring blog – haven’t been in the kitchen much since moving to Manhattan, but going to get after some ham cups for dinner and will dig out my Momofuku cookbook from storage. Thanks Chrissy!
I’m going to do this for my post Thanksgiving brunch menu. I think so left over turkey, cheese and salsa might make for a good cup. Thanks for the idea!
Damn! How come I didn’t see this until after breakfast? Maybe sun dried tomatoes and herbed goat cheese? Heck, I’d just put leftover rice and garlic! Awesome idea and great blog. Second best blog I’ve seen in a while.
http://www.foodandwinehedonist.com
You’re hilarious and your recipes are fab! Strong work!
i made this with Black Forest ham and diced hash browns pre-sauted with onions and thyme, Then covered it with shredded Tex Mex cheese (not what that is but its yum) and then the egg. when I ate it i open the cup and put a dollop of ketchup.
It was Breakfast in a cup!!! next time a dollop of Chipotle marinade in with the hash browns.
Thank you so much for what you do.
These look incredibly easy– so I must try. Another flavor idea: Mozzarella and tomato sauce. Ham egg pizza!
Im soo making this with a combo of my fav omelette recipe. I put seasoned potato (chunks), tomatoes, bacon, peppers, onions, and cheeeeeeeese in mine. sounds like a de-lish sunday brunch! can’t wait to try it out.
http://thenoshery.com/2009/03/29/a-two-bite-breakfast/
How many cups can you put in at the same time? And at what temp/cooking time?
Musrooms, Onions, & Broccoli.
DE-licious!!!
Thanks for the inspiration!
I just made this using Smart Deli “baked ham-style veggie protein slices” instead of ham. Sounds delicious, right? IT IS. I used onions sauteed in lots of butter, halved cherry tomatoes, and a bit of shredded cheddar cheese for the filling.
Thank you so much for sharing these! I’ve been dreaming about them until today when I finally made them for me and my hubby. I substituted peppered bacon for the ham and it was delicious! My foodie husband even took a picture of them befor eating them and usually he only takes pictures of meals he cooks!! You’ve inspired me!
I have to tell you 2 things: First, I absolutely LOVE following you on twitter. You’re one of five people who’s tweet I make sure to read all of.
Second, I’m trying the ham cups for Thanksgiving breakfast. Going to riff of off Seafood Eggs Benedict by adding toasted bread cubes, a little onion, jumbo lump crab meat and hollandaise sauce. TOOTHSOME
Keep up the excellent work, you’re awesome!
Minute 10 in the oven. Substituted Proscuitto for ham, with fontina cheese and sauteed onions. I’m salivating waiting.
Just made 3 of em. Used pepper ham. Did the spinach greek one but used jalepeno havarti, mozzarella, and parsley oil mixture instead of feta. Didn’t have to grease the cup because of the massive amounts of olive oil I used for soaking the cheese parsley mix. That extra kick was awesome. If I knew how to post a pic I totally would.
Whose oven is that clean? fml…
Fantastic Idea!…Looks great too, can only imagine the taste
Hello Chrissy,
I don’t know if you read comments on you former posts but anyway !
First, excuse my english, as I’m a french girl leaving in paris, I’m not sure of what I am actually writing here !
I just wanted you to know that I did your recipe of baked eggs in ham cups with the southwestern flavors and it’s was SO GOOD ! I dit it for my parents and my sister and they loved it ! (they had no choice!)
Your blog is fun and I like the fact that you put recipes that are actually easy to made and also very good looking so people are impressed even before they start eating.
I also made them the Stuffed Bell Peppers last week. It’s now a ritual that every wednesday I made dinner for them and it’s thanks to you !
So thank you, and please keep posting !
it is 1am here. I should be writing an essay for college, instead I found myself searching the internet for this recipe! I finally bought ramekin dishes, ergo I am finally going to make the baked ham egg cup creation of yours that I have been dreaming about all day.
Can’t wait for breakfast! WHoooo!
Honey turkey, gruyere, arugula, salsa verde, egg…freakin’ delicious! Gonna try a 350 degree oven next time. Egg yolk not runny enough. However, it’s my new fave brunch dish. Thanks girl!
I’d been dying to try this recipe since you originally posted and I had oot guests this weekend. I used honey roasted turkey, sauted red onion and green bell peppe rwith a Mexican cheese blend. Sh*t was freaking amazing and my guests were totally impressed. I served them with a side of fresh cut strawberries and white grapes.